One base, 100 desserts
These gluten free Lemon Lavender Squares from Ya’d Never Know were made with a shortbreadlike base, which they also package and sell for home bakers.
Many treats baked and sold there are also made with the base, says chef Rhonda Barr, owner of Ya’d Never Know, a Dundas store and bakery which specializes in fresh, gluten- and wheat-free baked goods. “We sell a ton of them.” She calls the concept “one base, 100 desserts.”
Ya’d Never Know also offers many recipes on their website, yadneverknow.com and blends and sells flour mixes.
Lemon Lavender Squares MAKES 30 BARS, 2-BY-3.25 INCHES EACH
Shortbread base: 2 cups Ya’d Never Know GF All Purpose Flour 2 cups Ya’d Never Know Cake and Pastry Flour 1 pound unsalted cold butter 1 cup brown sugar Topping: 4 eggs 1 cup 35 per cent cream Zest and juice of 3 lemons 1 can sweet and condensed milk 2 drops of pure lavender essential oil 2 cups organic cane sugar ½ cup Ya’d Never Know GF All Purpose Flour 2 Tbsp dried lavender flowers
Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 12-by-17-inch cookie sheet pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, blend the flours with sugar.
Cut butter into 1-inch pieces. Using your hands, crumble the butter into the flour mixture until it’s in pea-size pieces.
Also with your hands, press shortbread crumble base into sheet pan, packing it firmly. Bake for 10 minutes. For topping: Put all of the topping ingredients (except the dried flowers) into a food processor and blend for 3 minutes.
Pour over shortbread base and sprinkle the lavender flowers on top. Bake for 30 minutes. Chill completely before cutting. Store in an air tight container for up to 10 days, or freeze for up to six weeks.